Unclutterer

1. Posted by Wendy - 10/22/2009

   I am disabled, and being uncluttered and organized is amazingly hard. I WANT perfection, but have no focus to be doing housecleaning on a regular basis. I try to clean one room, one set of cabinets or drawers, or even just mop every floor and clean the litter box. One step at a time. Problem is, things get messy as I go on to the next job, days later. You are right, it causes anxiety, living in clutter. I’m trying to get us to finally finish the basement and setting up storage, so I can put stuff down there that dampness won’t bother. Then on to cleaning and sorting and finishing remodeling!!!

2. Posted by Lose That Girl - 10/22/2009

   Having things organized means that there’s one aspect of my life that I don’t need to dwell on. I find having a messy house results in having a messy mind. I’d rather be moving forward than stuck.

   We’ve been looking at a much larger condo — and the extra space would be most welcome but a part of me loves our smaller version and the challenges it presents to us.

3. Posted by Dawn F. - 10/22/2009

   I live an organized life because I like a sense of calm. Personally, I find a disorganized and cluttered space (closet/car/purse/house/etc.) to be nerve-racking and unhappy. Some people are totally cool with piles of stuff and rubbish in no particular order – me… not so much!

   I want to feel comfortable if guests drop by unannounced. I want to find my phone and my keys instantly. I want to put my hands on a much-needed document at a moment’s notice. I want to locate the perfect outfit in my closet. I want to grab all of the ingredients for my dinner recipe. And I want to do all of these things (and more) easily, quickly and in a relaxed manner.

   I want to breathe easy and smile and have lots of enthusiasm and motivation for doing truly happy things in my life and being disorganized and being cluttered gets in the way of that (for me).

   Plus, I am a true believer that staying organized and controlling clutter saves money – bonus!

4. Posted by Katie Alender - 10/22/2009

   Being organized is the first step in creating a simpler lifestyle. Once things are in their places, they can be evaluated in terms of what else we own and how much we truly need.

   For my hobby–sewing–which can get very messy and overwhelming, being organized lets me start a project when I feel like it, not after I locate all of the various things I need and end up exhausted just from that part of the process!

5. Posted by lola meyer - 10/22/2009

   One day I was cleaning the house and I realized I was upset and angry about it. Why? Not because I don’t like to clean, but because there was stuff in the way of cleaning -magazine piles, knicknacks, etc… I had sabotaged myself with my own junk. I’ve spent some time ‘editing’ and now feel pleased and peaceful in my home. Organizing is great for your blood pressure!

6. Posted by twosandalz - 10/22/2009

   For me being organized saves time, helps me get things done, and decreases stress.

   Giving my things homes helps me them faster. I have no patience for hunting for things… keys, spatulas, wrenches, anything. I don’t lose important documents when I keep file-work organized.

   I procrastinate if it will take me 20 minutes to find all the tools I need to start a project. But I’ll start right away if I know I can locate everything in half the time. And it feels good to get stuff done.

   Its just plain soothing to me to sit in my living room when its tidy and has a certain level of un-clutteredness.

7. Posted by Kathryn Fenner - 10/22/2009

   @ Dawn F.–you said it! I know I save money when I am organized, in at least two ways: 1. I don’t buy things I already have, and 2. I don’t go therapy shopping to calm down and escape!

   @ Wendy — Just keep on doing what you can and don’t give up! Something is better than nothing. I’ll be pulling for you!

8. Posted by littlebear - 10/22/2009

   My motivation to be organized comes from the desire to have the space to do the things I want to, like spread out and work on a project, or find the ingredients for a recipe quickly. When my stuff is orderly, I am calm and peaceful. Clutter, junk, trash, tools all strewn about drain me mentally. Since I work from home now I have (just recently) learned that I need to make organization and housekeeping a priority to preserve my sanity.
   I recently purged a lot from my closet and now all of the items I love to wear have a home. Even after I have done laundry! Before last week, I would constantly have clothes strewn about because there was no room for them to be orderly. One sock on the floor can quickly become a mountain of clothes, I have successfully maintained closet order for 84 hours and counting! Organization, however, is no substitute from making the tough decision to purge items from your home.

9. Posted by Michelle @ [ real neat ] - 10/22/2009

   Thanks so much for the link love! Isn’t it interesting how even the littlest things that we may hear or read can help us refocus our lives?

10. Posted by cv - 10/22/2009

    Others have articulated some of my reasons for wanting to live an uncluttered life, but I’ll add a couple of new ones: I’m anti-consumerism and very concerned about environmental issues. If I’m organized, I’ll remember the reusable shopping bags, and be able to find items I already have so I don’t have to buy new ones, and keep my belongings in better condition for longer. Wanting my grad-student apartment to feel organized and clutter-free fits in with my rejection of the message that society sends us that buying things will make you happy and more stuff will solve your problems. That’s why I skip over most of the unclutterer posts about new products – buying things to help me be organized doesn’t fit with my goals.

11. Posted by Sky - 10/22/2009

    Being organized and my home being clean is calming. I don’t stress when friends drop in or something unexpected comes up. My daily routine keeps my home clean and presentable. If I want to take off on a spur of the moment trip or take a class or whatever, I don’t panic because my life isn’t a cluttered mess and my to-do list isn’t holding me back.

    For me, it is SO much easier to keep things nice than to get it all back together if I let it go. It really doesn’t take much time every day and I would much rather have fun and do the things I want to do without a big mess at home hanging over me.

12. Posted by Shalin - 10/22/2009

    I want to be organized because…

    * I’d like to not feel “oh, this is overwhelming to deal with” and then feel zapped of energy to do any-thing when I get home after work…
    * I’d like my friends and family to come over more often – more smiles and laughs in the house!
    * I’d like to vastly reduce allergens that leave me with a stuffy nose in the morning when I wake…
    * …I’d like feel creative, energized, and free to express myself in my own home (classic “do you own your stuff or does your stuff own you issue”)

    aahhh… nice to have it written down

    Best,
    Shalin

13. Posted by Jen - 10/22/2009

    I simply FEEL BETTER when my apartment is neat and organized. That’s the biggest motivation for me. If I wake up on a Saturday morning, I want to take the dogs out, make coffee, and sit down to work on my novel. But if the apt is a mess, I can’t get my mind into the writing mode until I clean it. That’s an hour or 2 of time (thankfully I can clean my 1000 sq. ft. apt in about an hour.) An hour or 2 I could have spent on my novel. It drives me nuts, but I can’t do anything else until it’s clean. Now if I could just get my boyfriend to put stuff away my life would be easier….

    It’s also easier to clean when I have less stuff to move around. When I moved a year and a half ago I got rid of a LOT of stuff. I had a curio cabine jam packed full of knick-knacks. Now I have a little wall shelf with 12 spaces, and that’s all I have. I have some little stuffed animals on my bookshelf. Last time I dusted I got rid of a few more items. It feels nice not to have clutter in my apartment.

14. Posted by gypsy packer - 10/22/2009

    1–My work is grim, routine, and mindless, and therefore my imagination is out at play while my body is tasking. This means that I am totally absent-minded. Organization keeps me from misplacing and losing every small item I own.

    2–I’m allergic to dust mites. It’s far easier to clean an organized space than to clean chaos.

    3–I’ve gone from living in a house to living in various small spaces, including the notorious Jeff Foxworthy Joke pickup truck. Small spaces are quite livable and energy-efficient, but only if you organize them for optimum utility.

15. Posted by chacha1 - 10/22/2009

    Most of today’s commenters have motivations similar to mine. I suspect we are all drawn to this site for a reason.

    I too find plenty of stress and clutter (of all kinds) at work, so at home I want peace and comfort. Plus, DH and I both occasionally need to see clients at home, so the place needs to always be tidy enough for that. We have a lot of “stuff,” but in all the public rooms everything has a place and is easy to keep neat and clean in just a few minutes a day.

    I remember previous living arrangements when a clutterbug made my home a nest of crap. I was always angry! This is much better.

16. Posted by Camilla - 10/22/2009

    For me, physical clutter = emotional clutter. I feel owned by my possessions. I want less stuff. I want to see empty space, or well organized storage. And clutter makes it hard to clean, as well. Too much stuff in the way prevents quick and efficient dusting, vacuuming, etc.

    I have been working to declutter my living spaces, get rid of clothes I no longer wear, etc. At the same time, I follow some of the suggestions on flylady.com to set up cleaning routines that are reasonable and easy to maintain. And she is a HUGE fan of decluttering!

17. Posted by kre8iv1 - 10/22/2009

    Right now I am NOT organized, and I can tell you that my energy and zest for life is NON-EXISTENT.

    I have recently taken serious steps to become organized.

    My goal for the un-cluttering of my house is that I will feel more energy and get my zest for life back.

    Thank you for this website/blog. I just ordered your book, too. I am eagerly looking forward to a more orderly life.

18. Posted by Lori - 10/22/2009

    When I was younger and had a lot more clutter, it would take me days to get ready for a big gathering at my house. Now that I have less stuff, my house is fairly clean all of the time. I can focus more on setting a nice table and working on the dinner menu rather than cleaning. I actually enjoy having company over now because I am focusing on the actual dinner preparations rather than the frantic cleaning I used to do.

19. Posted by Tabatha - 10/22/2009

    i liked to be organized b/c i grew up with a pack rat mother who is still a pack rat. nothing was ever clean or organized except small parts of the apartment or house we lived in at one time or another. she can never find anything. i asked for some pictures months ago and she still hasn’t found them yet. i just got to a point where i couldn’t stand it anymore and i am now working towards as minimalist a life as i can get(and still be happy). and right now i think i feel a closet purge coming on.

20. Posted by Gina - 10/22/2009

    My motivation to be organized and uncluttered stems from two desires:

    1. To live in a space that has a calming effect on my senses. My work life is stressful and no fun at all. When I’m at home I want to have everything in place to relax and recharge, not be distracted by junk.

    2. To stay focused on those parts of my life that are my priorities. For example, if my bookshelves are full of books that don’t support my interests and goals then it is a distraction to my focus. I’d rather have just those books that support my goals (or that I love so much they are a reflection of me). Anything else on the shelves is an unwelcome distraction.

21. Posted by Wellington Grey - 10/22/2009

    For me, it was an issue of stress. I was not initially an organized person — I had late bills and big messes.

    Eventually, it got to a point where I was so stressed out I had to change or go crazy.

22. Posted by SJ - 10/22/2009

    Hey everyone,
    This is a great post, Erin, and you guys have great comments.
    I agree with many of the sentiments expressed. But I have a huge problem actually putting these thoughts into action. I feel like it takes forever to clean and within a day it’s messy again. (Particularly the bathrooms and kitchen) And when I try to set up a cleaning schedule many times I don’t remember that I was supposed to clean on that day (as lame as that sounds). The biggest thing I’m coming back to from all your thoughts is that I never seem to have anyone over unless it’s all been pre-arranged … and that is really, really depressing. I would like to change this, starting today. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make a cleaning routine simple and manageable … and most of all, to make it stick? Thanks so much!

23. Posted by What is your motivation to be organized? | Unclutterer | DeclutterMastery.com - 10/22/2009

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24. Posted by Jack - 10/22/2009

    My wife and I aren’t organized yet, but we’re working towards it.

    We want to organize so we can teach our kids (a 6 and 3 year old and a 5 month old) good organizational skills and get a handle on their stuff that seems to be multiplying.

25. Posted by Dawn F. - 10/22/2009

    @SJ: Once you reduce the contents of your home down to a manageable quantity (and keep only what truly meets your needs and/or is truly important in your life) cleaning will be a much easier task.

    I would say that if your focus is on having guests over then the main spots/spaces to work on would include the kitchen, living room (or wherever the guests will gather to visit) and the guest bathroom. You could focus on 1 of these 3 spaces on 3 different nights – like say Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – to be prepared for a Friday/weekend event. Obviously, a full-blown cleaning schedule would include all areas of your home and might take more than 3 days/nights, but I’m just mentioning the 3 main locations where I assume your visitors would be in your home.

    Once you decide on the days and spaces to focus on simply make yourself a large note and hang it on the fridge! Make sure you remove all of the trash immediately.

    You mentioned “within a day it’s messy again” – perhaps you don’t have a true home for your things so they never go to a place where they should go. Find a sensible home for your things and don’t let yourself slack off – put dirty clothes in hamper, put dishes in the dishwasher/sink, put books back on the bookcase, etc., etc. right away. Don’t use the “I’ll do it later” motto.

    Once you get into a steady routine and you have your home/apartment/room organized, I promise cleaning will be a snap! If you have a spouse/partner/children get their help, too as they contributed to the situation more than likely.

26. Posted by SJ - 10/22/2009

    Dawn, thanks for the suggestions! I’ll try to get the cleaning routine down … and start having more parties!

27. Posted by Gina - 10/22/2009

    @SJ:

    Re everything getting messy in a day, try to follow this simple motto: “a place for everything and everything in its place” for 95% of your stuff. You’ll always have 1 or 2 things slightly out of whack. That’s ok.

    My other thought re your parties — are you letting the perfect be the enemy of the good? Resist trying to make everything “perfect” before you let somebody in. It will never be perfect. Just strive for almost-perfect.

    But if you’re keeping 95% of your stuff where it ought to be, and sticking to a simple clean-as-you-go routine, your house should always be good enough to let folks in the door.

28. Posted by Sky - 10/22/2009

    SJ: One of my favorite “rules” is the 2 minute rule by David Allen in his book Getting Things Done. If you can put something where it belongs or get it done in 2 minutes, do it. Instead of throwing papers in a pile, file them, throw something in the trash instead of putting it on the kitchen counter for later, etc.

    It’s amazing what you can do in 2 minutes!

29. Posted by Christina @ Northern Cheapskate - 10/22/2009

    I’ve always been one of those people who simply felt BETTER when things were in their proper place. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to the realization that it’s because I like knowing what I have. I like being able to appreciate what I have… and you can’t do that if you can’t find it!

30. Posted by cakemix - 10/22/2009

    He who does not get fun and enjoyment out of every day … needs to reorganize his life…

    interesting quote as i really need to get more organised to make room for my new ‘he’.

31. Posted by denise - 10/22/2009

    besides the obvious benetfits of saving time, money and decreasing frustration by being organized, i think there must be some neurochemical transmitters in some peoples brain that occur during the process of organizing. I know it feels very good to me to catagorize, organize and see the organized outcome. There is also some discomfort in having things unorganized.

32. Posted by Linda - 10/22/2009

    It’s just very nice to know where everything is and to feel like you’re in control of your life.

33. Posted by WilliamB - 10/22/2009

    To know where things are when I need them, not to be running around at the last minute looking for a necessary item.

    For that sense of serene calm that comes with a tidy, organized space.

    Knowing that, if he were here, my blind grandfather would be perfectly at home.

34. Posted by Linda - 10/22/2009

    A couple major motivations — to have more free time and to have an uncluttered living space.

35. Posted by Joseph - 10/23/2009

    The motivation for me about being uncluttered started with my obsession to be organized.

    I saw that organized people tended to be more productive and could get more done. I found that some productive people had lots of stuff while others had very little. The people with the least stuff intrigued me more because it always took them less time to find any one thing they needed and the least amount of time to clean and reorganize or move.

    That was when I realized if you want to be productive but are too lazy to organize your loads of junk…then declutter it and go minimalist. I have a packrat tendency like my mother my grandmother, my father, my sister, my other sister and my aunt. I see them very emotionally drained and bitter in their living and working spaces and the only universal conclusion I could see was that their stuff controlled their emotions. How can one concentrate or maintain calm and loving attitudes if you have a million things in your way?

    So I junked it. I made it a goal after seeing and helping them all move to new and bigger places to store stuff….that I would not own more things then I could transport in one trip via a 1992 Geo Prism.

    You’d be amazed at what you find worthless when you think about why you are bothering to save it and how much time it cost you to discard it or save it.

36. Posted by Shang Lee - 10/23/2009

    I get rid of clutter so that I can see what I’m supposed to focus on. It also gives me a calming effect, knowing that clutter will not take up a lot of brain estate that it has to.

37. Posted by CynthiaCharleen - 10/23/2009

    Heaving the clutter makes room for good to come into your life. By taking time to decide what is really important, you can make big changes in a short time. It is also important to make a plan so the clutter does not return.

    Begin your journey to declutter..today.

38. Posted by Nina - 10/23/2009

    I might not be able to control my outside world and how crazy and difficult my life has been at times but at least I can control and organize my home the way I want. I think at the end of the day that is why I do it. When things outside get overwhelming I feel a special need to organize, declutter and simplify the inside, my home. I find that it also helps to calm the mind when you have an organized home.

39. Posted by Availle - 10/23/2009

    I’m organized for two obvious reasons:
    1) I’m lazy (especially in the morning)
    2) I’m stingy

    Being organized helps me avoid situations like:
    ad 1) 5 min to go – where are my car keys/memory stick/money/phone? … I did wash my favourite Tshirt, right? … I’m sure I took down that phone number somewhere?
    ad 2) I guess the moldy bread goes great with the furry jam and the ancient yoghurt … I’ll just hop down to the convenience store for toothpaste … 2-for-the-price-of-1 ended YESTERDAY?

    None of this for me, at least not on a regular basis. I know what I have/need, where my stuff is (yes, my -small – wardrobe is organized by season and then by color, so I know immediately that my favourite piece is in the laundry when not on its spot) and I have a basic plan for the day.

    I don’t worry about guests, I only invite friends, not the Spanish Inquisition. Also, I don’t quite understand the ‘calm environment’ sentiment. I LIVE here, thank you so much, it’s not supposed to be a showroom/church/library. Although, a library…

40. Posted by Lori Paximadis - 10/23/2009

    I hate having to search for things I know are there. Somewhere.

    I hate feeling overwhelmed, which is what I feel when I see a huge stack or box of mystery papers. Thankfully, the mystery paper problem is almost gone.

41. Posted by ami - 10/23/2009

    Good posts, and many good suggestions. But how to get motivated for that first big push??? I love being organized (at least I think I do, it’s been a while), but seeing the messes in every room deflates me. I also feel like the only person in this house of 5 humans, one big dog and one old cat who WANTS to simplify and be organized. sigh.

42. Posted by gina - 10/23/2009

    @Ami:

    It’s like getting to the gym. Don’t think about it. Just start doing it. Do it whether you’re motivated or not.

    Just chunk it into manageable tasks. Can’t do all 5 rooms at once? OK, focus on 1 room. Or focus on 1 task across all rooms.

    Just do it. A little bit everyday.

43. Posted by gina - 10/23/2009

    @Availle:

    When I talk about calm environment, I don’t mean some zen oasis where everybody is sitting on pillows and meditating — I mean it’s an environment that doesn’t agitate me on any level — mentally, spiritually, etc.

    That means that it’s a tidy and clean environment. No little piles of junk around prodding at my consciousness saying “clean me up”. For some that may mean pristine — for me it doesn’t. But it needs to be at that point where I don’t feel like I need to do something to improve it.

    That’s calm.

44. Posted by Elaine - 10/23/2009

    The slow process of organizing and uncluttering my work space, my home, my life has paid dividends by removing and smoothing over the stress that goes with messes.

    I find things, I spend less money replacing or buying second copies of lost or misplaced items, I worry less about what people will say when they visit, I argue less with my child or partner, I complete work in a better time frame and I’m not exhausted just walking into a room. All of these make life much simpler in a way that I couldn’t conceive of until I started the process.

    Of course, trying to explain that to people who aren’t working to the same end is like trying to describe the colour blue to someone who has been blind their whole life.

45. Posted by CC - 10/23/2009

    to stress less … everything has it’s place, available and ready and I spend less (don’t have duplicates because I can’t find xx or forgot that I have xx because it’s buried somewhere it shouldn’t be!)

46. Posted by crunchycon - 10/23/2009

    I had a medical condition a few years back that (I suspect) left me a little more scattered, a little less focused, and lacking much of a short-term memory. Being organized and uncluttered is my work-around to these conditions.

47. Posted by Michmax - 10/23/2009

    My advice to those that dont know where to start, or feel the place gets unorganized quickly again is to take a vacation day off work if you can in the middle of the week and spend the same amount of hours working on your home as you would at the office. Wake up the same time, shower, put on fresh clothes and spend the whole day cleaning as if it was your job. Take a lunch break, get a bit of fresh air, and come right back to it.

    I find that when I try to do a major cleaning on a Saturday, I get far too lazy and rationalize that its ok to be lazy since I had a long week and hardly anything gets done. And when I try to clean one room at a time each day after work, the little bit I did on Monday is messy by Thursday and after spending 4 days of tiring work after my real job, I still have yet to get that relaxing feeling when the whole house is clean at once.

    But when I know that I took a vacation day off work to make this happen, you better believe I am not going to waste it and vow to keep it this way. I guess you could say my lack of organization at times is definately from a lack of mental focus rather than an actual shortage of time.

48. Posted by Matt - 10/24/2009

    My motivation to stay organized was brought on by the shock of realizing that as I approach the end of my 20’s, there are a lot of more things in my life that demand my attention than there used to be. Thats not a bad thing. For the most part, the benefits I get back far outway the costs. But they still take up time.

    5 years ago I could get away with being disorganized, because I had far more time then I had things to fill it and I didn’t really have any greater responsibilities than making sure I had milk in the fridge for cereal and some relatively clean clothes. That’s no longer the case. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick up on this quite as quickly as I should have. Things that had to get done didn’t, and this led to some stressful times. Getting organized wasn’t really a choice, it was a necessity.

    Of course, having made that difficult adjustment, I can now see the additional benefits of being organized, which helps me stay motivated and put in that little bit of additional effort that may be required. Every wasted minute I spend searching for a document or a tool in a pile of clutter is a minute I don’t have to spend on something fun. Being organized means that the mundane tasks get done faster, leaving me more time to spend on things I enjoy.

49. Posted by Mid America Mom - 10/25/2009

    One word: Stress

    We have enough in life! Having a place and purpose for our things leads to less stress.

    No longer am I asked Mom where is x?

    No longer am I responsible for redirecting things when they land in a spot someone thinks would work or just that it “fit” there.

    No longer do I have to supervise cleaning up or putting newly acquired shopping items away.

    No longer do I have to spend time finding something when I could be doing what I really want to do.

    I could find more but you get the picture
    Mid America Mom

50. Posted by Sonja Aoun - 10/25/2009

    My current motivation to be and stay organized is twofold: I want my home life to be both serene and joyful, and I want my professional life to flow smoothly. I am a co-owner of a law firm, and we deal with so much paper and so many facts that there is no way I could provide good service to my clients if I didn’t stay organized. With respect to my home life, being organized helps me give my family a wonderful place to live, and keeps work at work.

51. Posted by logoscoaching - 11/09/2009

    being organised with ‘everyday’ routines means because they get done more efficiently and quickly I have more time to spend on doing activities which add value to myself and others. Having said that, I do try and make the amount of time spent doing the habitual as pleasant as poss

52. Posted by spnetwork12 - 11/15/2009

    Why be organized?

    You must first understand the fruit in having everything you touch represent you. You are your own brand. In business you have to build a brand, a name. How you look, how you carry yourself is important; these things communicate your true brand. It all begins with how you manage your life. It is important to have an organized mindset, organized behaviors; at home, at your business, it all matters.

    http://www.youareaceo.com/spnetwork12

    spnetwork12.blogspot.com

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